Staunton Community Center at Nelson Street to Open for New Middle School Afterschool Program

STAUNTON, VA (11/12/2012)(readMedia)-- Boys & Girls Club Receives 21st CCLC Grant to Serve Shelburne Middle School Students

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Waynesboro, Staunton, & Augusta County is pleased to announce it has received a $200,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Education. The Boys & Girls Club will use the funds to deliver an afterschool program to youth attending Shelburne Middle School. The grant is a three-year award totaling $600,000 for the complete grant cycle.

The program will be offered Monday – Friday from 2pm – 7pm at the Nelson Street Teen Center, located at 900 Nelson Street Staunton, VA 24401. The program is aimed to serve students in 6th – 8th grade at Shelburne Middle School. The program is designed to focus on four core areas; (1) Academic Enrichment Learning, (2) Recreational Activities, (3) Character Education, and (4) Drug and Violence Prevention. The program is a partnership between the Boys & Girls Clubs and Staunton City Schools, as well as local youth serving agencies including Staunton Parks and Recreation and the Staunton YMCA.

Tyrell McElroy, Chief Professional Officer for the Boys & Girls Clubs stated, "This program will allow us to better serve our middle school youth in the City of Staunton. It will give our middle school students a positive place of their own to go afterschool." The program is set to begin on Monday, November 19, 2012. The City of Staunton has been busy preparing and upgrading the building to house the new program. "The Staunton Parks and Recreation Department is thrilled to utilize the unique space at Nelson Street to meet the afterschool needs of middle school students in our City. This worthwhile program, I believe will help counteract many of the negative distractions that capture teens attention during the unsupervised hours of 3-6pm," said Jennifer Jones, Superintendent of Recreation for the City Parks and Recreation Department which oversees community center activities.

The Department of Education awards grants through a competitive application and review process. There were more than 100 applicants in this year's competition with only 29 awards being granted. The Boys & Girls Clubs were awarded two grants, the other covering William Perry Elementary and Wenonah Elementary schools in Waynesboro.

For more information, please contact: Tyrell D. McElroy, Boys & Girls Clubs, Chief Professional Officer

540.241.6011 | tmcelroy@augustabgclub.org.